Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
Certificated airplanes all have a demonstrated crosswind capability, frequently 17 knots (20 mph), which means that the factory has demonstrated that the plane can be landed in that crosswind by an average pilot, to paraphrase the FARs rather heavily. (FAR 23.233(a) is part of the answer but I bet there's more than that).
We've all read stories of varying levels of credibility about how much crosswind an RV can handle, but are there any authoritative demonstrated crosswind capability numbers in line with FAR 23 for the various RV models? Please, DO NOT POST HOW MUCH CROSSWIND YOU'VE LANDED IN AND GOTTEN AWAY WITH. THAT'S NOT THE QUESTION.
Flew solo this morning for the first time after the most recent spinal surgery, after three flights with a CFI buddy in the RV-9A. According to the G3X (handy little critter!), winds (all out of the south) were 15 knots at 1,000 ft; 25 knots at 500 ft; 20 knots at 200 ft; and at the surface, sometimes as little as 6 knots, sometimes more. (I've not downloaded the data to get surface winds). The gusts meant that I couldn't get any reliable wind info on the 90 degree crosswind landings, and I don't know what average pilot technique is, and I had flaps 10 or 20 to get the nose down on final, so my numbers don't answer my own question.
Anybody got any *reliable* information?
We've all read stories of varying levels of credibility about how much crosswind an RV can handle, but are there any authoritative demonstrated crosswind capability numbers in line with FAR 23 for the various RV models? Please, DO NOT POST HOW MUCH CROSSWIND YOU'VE LANDED IN AND GOTTEN AWAY WITH. THAT'S NOT THE QUESTION.
Flew solo this morning for the first time after the most recent spinal surgery, after three flights with a CFI buddy in the RV-9A. According to the G3X (handy little critter!), winds (all out of the south) were 15 knots at 1,000 ft; 25 knots at 500 ft; 20 knots at 200 ft; and at the surface, sometimes as little as 6 knots, sometimes more. (I've not downloaded the data to get surface winds). The gusts meant that I couldn't get any reliable wind info on the 90 degree crosswind landings, and I don't know what average pilot technique is, and I had flaps 10 or 20 to get the nose down on final, so my numbers don't answer my own question.
Anybody got any *reliable* information?